Friday, August 26, 2011

Pop(sicle) Culture

Today is Cherry Popsicle Day! I did what anyone who can read and has a list of holidays would do today, and enjoyed a cherry popsicle. By which I mean I ate one. I was going to say 'ate' in the first place, but you don't really eat a popsicle so much as you just kinda let it melt in your mouth. Or spontaneously and inexplicably combust due to Texan heat.

Anyway, as I was enjoyting (enjoying/eating) it, I thought about two things.
1) I really wish this was a cherry lollipop instead.
2) The choice of popsicle flavour can really say a lot about a person.

Maybe not so much when the sun is sending all its radiation through a focused beam towards your city, and people will take ice no matter what flavor it is, but it does when you have the luxury to casually choose. Not too casually, though, some of the people in line are very impatient. Those kind of people are what I picture as "cherry" people. They are simple, yet unmistakably exactly what they are. What I mean by that is: You get what you see. Is the popsicle red? You got cherry. Are they tapping they're foot in line because they knew what they wanted from the start? They're gonna get that cherry popsicle. If the popsicle is pink, it could be strawberry, watermelon, or some weird tropical punch mix.

Speaking of watermelon, that flavor along with grape are usually chosen by well-rounded people. You'll see them moving around the crowd getting involved in every conversation possible. It isn't that they're nosy, they just like every moment to be fresh and new. So they'll sometimes walk away when you thought you were talking with them. Don't hold it against them.

Citrus flavors are the people you'll find talking in a circle. They like the sour taste and the distance from the crowd so they can pass around cynical comments and jokes about everyone at the party. They'll be more than happy to let you throw a few jabs in the wordplay, too. However, be warned: they are much more practiced and will more than probably throw anything you give right back at you. Don't take offense, they mean it all in good fun.

Then you have the oddball flavors. There's one in every box, and there's one person at every gathering that will eat them all. They know no one else likes the flavor or really even understands it, and that's a major factor in their decision. They can enjoy their flavor without worrying about the supply running out any time soon. And they can always use the fact that they eat that flavor as a conversation starter. They also WILL use it as a conversation starter. They'll go into such detail about their past and why they like that flavor, that I might offend them trying to describe it myself.